They Did What? BBC In Hot Water Over Murder Contest Clues

O.K. I admit I have a very strange sense of humour. Obvious stupidity makes me laugh out loud, whether it comes from a politician, a company spokesperson, a U.S. president or a broadcaster. Which is why I felt kind of guilty when I howled at this story about the BBC running a “Guess The Famous Person” contest.

They played a series of snippets of songs designed to point to the I.D. of the celebrity and then asked for phone calls. Well, you can imagine the outrage when it was revealed those “clues” pointed to Ian Brady, one of the so-called Moors Murderers. If you don’t know the name, he was one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers, a man who partnered with his girlfriend to kill five children in an infamous case in the 60s. Brady died in prison last week, bringing his name back into the news.

So when people started figuring out who the quiz was hinting at, they were stunned, alarmed and most of all, angry. Imagine if someone here did, say, a Paul Bernardo music quiz and you’ll get the idea of how insane this was. The aircheck of the contest clues is still online and you can hear it here.

I admit I shouldn’t have laughed at it. But sometimes true stupidity is hilarious. Especially considering the clues they played – which included the theme from “The Brady Bunch!”